Community Newsletter
June, 2019
How you've helped your neighbors in need on their road to self-sufficiency.
Difficult journey ends with diploma

Each spring as the rest of the world is celebrating graduations, we too are preparing for the Adult Education Celebration of Excellence. This evening acknowledges each of our Adult Education students for their hard work and accomplishment. One very special group is the students who have studied for, taken and passed the five tests required to achieve their High School equivalency diploma. Each one has had a personal and often difficult journey to get to this point.

One of these graduates, Randy*, left high school before completing 10 th grade, worked many different jobs over the years and raised a family. It was never the right time to go back and finish school and it was something that never got put to the top of his list. A few years ago Randy decided to try and accomplish a goal he always wanted to achieve and began taking our HiSET Prep classes. He did this for a few months and really demonstrated how capable he was. Sadly he developed severe health problems and could no longer study. We stayed in touch with him and always hoped he would be able to return. During this time he supported other students in the program and encouraged them to keep going.

Last year Randy's health improved enough for him to return to studying. He began taking the tests and has now achieved his HiSET diploma. Along the way he has shown how hardworking, dedicated and accomplished he is. This year he will begin college classes and has shared how eager he is to get started.

Thanks to your support, Randy and 50 other students are on their way to a more hopeful future.

*Name changed for privacy

Beverly Bootstraps gets coveted 4 star rating

Our strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency have earned Beverly Bootstraps a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator.

Charity Navigator looks at which charities operate in accordance with industry best practices, whether they are open with their donors and stakeholders, as well as their financial health. A 4-star rating sets us apart from our peers and demonstrates our trustworthiness to the public. See our profile here .

Based on this 4-star rating, you can trust that your donations are going to a financially responsible and ethical charity when you decide to support Beverly Bootstraps.

Donate school supplies

If you or your company or organization is looking for a way to give back, please consider donating school supplies to our Back to School Bonanza backpack program. Each summer, we give brand new backpacks filled with school supplies to children in need to set them up for success in the next school year.

For list of supplies needed, click here . You can also shop without leaving the comfort of your home by using our Amazon wish list here .

Students go shopping
Thank you to the students at  Glen Urquhart  who, as part of a class project, went shopping to buy food to stock our Food Pantry shelves. They even took a tour of the facility while they were here. 

A successful Food Drive
Thank you to all of you who donated to our Food Drive at Market Basket last weekend, to Market Basket for letting us collect at their store, and to the Beverly Rotary Club for volunteering their time to work at the drive. We collected over 1,300 pounds of food donations!!

Making weekend food bags
Nottingham Small Lee Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors recently donated lots of healthy snacks and packaged them up into weekend food bags to ensure kids can have enough to eat over the weekend. Thank you!

Community Bag Program
Entire month of June
Stop & Shop, Enon Street, Beverly  
Beverly Bootstraps was selected to be a part of the Stop & Shop Community Bag Program, which is designed to make it easy for customers to contribute to their local community while supporting the environment. For the month of June, each time a $2.50 reusable Community Bag is purchased at the Stop & Shop located on Enon Street, $1 will be donated to Beverly Bootstraps. 

Thrift Shop at Arts Fest
Saturday, June 15, 10:00am – 4:00pm
Cabot Street, Beverly
The Thrift Shop will be selling vintage and handmade goods at Arts Fest - a free outdoor festival in downtown Beverly that’s fun for the whole family! Over 150+ juried fine artists and crafters, music and entertainment, kids’ activities, art-on-the-spot creations, artist demonstrations and outdoor food court with food trucks! The event is free and open to the public. Arts Fest is held outside, rain or shine.

Thrift Shop Yard Sale
Wednesday, August 7, 10:00am - 5:00pm
Lynch Park, Beverly
During Beverly's Homecoming Lobsterfest Celebration enjoy delicious food while shopping these thrift shop goods: jewelry, nautical Items, kids' stuff, scarves, clothing, pottery, bags, books, and more...
(bring your own shopping bag, please)  
To learn more, click on these handy links:
35 Park Street, Beverly, MA 01915 • 978-927-1561 • BeverlyBootstraps.org